- Court: United States Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: First Amendment
- Date Filed: June 29, 2020
- Case #: 19-177
- Judge(s)/Court Below: KAVANAUGH, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and THOMAS, ALITO, and GORSUCH, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed a concurring opinion. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GINSBURG and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. KAGAN, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
- Full Text Opinion
The Leadership Act was passed in 2003 which provided funds to mitigate the HIV/AIDS emergency around the world. The act contained a Policy Requirement that in order to receive funds, an organization would have to pledge that they were opposed to “prostitution and sex trafficking.” 22 U.S.C. § 7631(f). However, in 2013, the Court held that the Policy Requirement as applied to American organizations was a violation of the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the ruling by the District Court for the Southern District of New York and held the First Amendment was violated by the Policy Requirement as applied to foreign affiliates. The Supreme Court held that when the Policy Requirement is applied to U.S. corporations’ foreign affiliates, there can be no First Amendment violation because the U.S. Constitution does not apply to non U.S. citizens outside of U.S. soil. Additionally, organizations that are incorporated individually are their own legal units and possess different legal rights and duties. REVERSED.